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Show Is your leisure a dismal combination of snoozing and boredom? It is for many families until they discover both relaxation and stimulation in ; tun By WILBUR CROSS i W ( km income-producin- En mc; VV ; liS: 2 This vacationer made the most of her holiday time by enrolling in an art course. I spent . two weeks in a rented cottage at the shore with my wife and four daughters our first family vacation in five years. A as the early 19th century, an advertisement that was to become famous appeared in a newspaper: LOST, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with 60 diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever. If the inspired author, noted American educator Horace Mann, were alive today, his text might have referred to "two golden weeks, for the truth is that we often squander entire vacations tied up in knots and unable to relax or, what is equally tiring, relax too determinedly, replacing one form of effort, which is with anat least other that has little purpose. Recent studies oh how we spend vacations bear out this regrettable point. The Southern California Research Council, for instance, found that leisure was seldom used to real advantage. "The point of leisure," reported the Council, "should be more than simply restoring one's working powers. We cannot happily contemplate a future society in which leisure is merely filled with hectic amusement. In particular, we need to develop new forms of leisure which stretch our minds." There is no magic formula for planning a fulfilling vacation. But here are some guidelines, with specific examples, for achieving more rewarding, refreshing vacations: Plan Ahead. One family ve know has proclaimed for itself a "Vacation Sunday," usually in when members gather around and spread out travel folders, newspaper clippings, letters from friends telling about their vacations, anything of interest. "Everyone has a chance to make suggestions," the father explains, "and we mark them all down on the calendar, no matter how wild or unrealistic they may seem. Then we circle as objectives those ideas that appeal to the most people." Their planning takes in long weekends and the most feasible dates for a vacation. "It's remarkable," the father adds, "how many of the ideas become realities." Many people justifiably ask, "How do we know that what seems in advance like a great vacation scheme won't tun; into a bust?" The Robert Deanes have an answer: pretest it. FEW SUMMERS AGO, Though we kept saying, "Tomorrow we'll get organized and do something that's fun," the days slipped by unrewardingly with nothing noteworthy to look back on. Later, my wife presented me with album labeled, "Your . a makeshift Vacation: 1966." The candid snapshots showed Daddy listlessly reading a business magazine, yawning with boredom in a sagging ham' mock, and Mother washing muddy socks in a tidal pool. To accompany these dismal exhibits and others equally noninspiring, she penned in an old Zen proverb: "No day comes back again ; an inch of time is worth a foot of jade." By contrast, when I arrived back in my office, I heard from one of my associates a glowing account of the vacation he had enjoyed. Like me, he had selected a Family Weekly, February cottage at the shore. But unlike me, he had planned how to put his time to constructive use. For one thing, he had tried "house swapping," turning over his Westchester home to a - Maine couple who wanted a vacation near New York City. In return for compiling a personal notebook of things to see and do in the city and arranging with friends to include his guests in their activities, he received similar attention from his new neighbors, who otherwise would have been strangers. As a result, he and his wife and two sons crewed in sailing races, enjoyed clambakes on the beaches of private homes, toured historic buildings not open to the public, and returned home with a prized collection of rewarding snapshots. Listening to my associate, I realized how much more constructive an investment I could have made in my vacation time if ,only I had possessed his perspective when we made our plans. Yet Americans, I've discovered, have traditionally found it difficult to make good use of their precious leisure time. As far back 22, 1970 shore-communi- ty g, Creative Makin' Bob and his wife became interested in folklore and decided that it would be fun to "go on location" rather than merely read about color- ful characters and events in books. But they were not sure whether their three children 12 to 15 years old could take it. So they pretested the plan, using long weekends to explore nearby regions known for legendary heroes and happenings. They were delighted to find that, far from being bored, the children became absorbed in ferreting out information on their own. So, jointly, they all planned their whole vacation around the theme, "Folklore Fiesta." No matter how imaginative you may be in creatirj vacation ideas, it may pay to consult a travel agent. For years, Europaans and Americans have been traveling abroad on vacation to attend university summer courses or special seminars. Travel agents and airlines now offer package tours that include everyfares and resthing from round-tri- p ervations to tuition, room and board upon arrival, and other necessities. Among the many packaje tours is one called "Spook and Spectre." This costs $234, plus air fares, and takes in "haunted" buildings in England. little-know- n two-wee- k v mid-Januar- y, V "". ... 5 full-leng- th You can learn to sail during vacation. |